Various types of furniture, such as chairs or settees, provide pliable surfaces suspended by a frame. Sling furniture (e.g., a “sling chair”) generally includes a sling as a surface portion of the furniture, such as a back or seat of a chair. For example, a sling chair has a frame and a pliable yet supportive fabric panel mounted to the frame in one or more pieces to support the person sitting. The sling panel or panels are mounted to the frame in a way that suspends it in place and bears the weight of the sitting individual or other item. One typical means of mounting a sling is by a stitched or woven loop forming a sleeve or channel along opposing edges of the sling, into which flexible dowels are inserted, and the looped edges with dowel inserts are disposed in slotted keyway channels formed in the frame (e.g., in opposing seat members, so that a sling panel may be suspended between them). Another typical means of fastening is to have the opposing frame members inserted into the looped edges of the sling. In either case, when the opposing frame members are attached to the other frame members, the sling panel is suspended and supported. In addition to chairs, some forms of tables or other furniture employ sling mounted panels. Although a variety of mechanisms may have been employed for securing a sling to the frame, these conventional mechanisms have suffered several deficiencies.
First, conventional sling mechanisms have not permitted the use of materials such as wicker. Wicker is a fiber capable of being woven into a supportive pattern; traditionally wicker has been formed from plant fibers. Recent developments have enabled the fabrication of synthetic wicker having improved durability and simplified assembly. Accordingly, wicker materials are growing in popularity. However, wicker furniture has traditionally required a series of holes within the furniture frame, so that the wicker fibers could be looped or threaded through the frame during the weaving process; this requirement can be a complicating step that often requires hand work. This limitation also requires the preliminary step of drilling the plurality of holes into the frame in a pattern that supports the contemplated wicker designs for the panel. Because of this, some have resorted to using pressed cane, which is convenient. However, machine fabricate pressed cane appears artificial and often lacks the strength of traditional wicker.
An additional drawback to conventional sling designs is an order of frame assembly that requires mounting the sling onto the frame prior to completing frame assembly. That is, in many conventional designs, the flexible dowel must be inserted into the sleeves located on the sling, and then the sling is mounted onto the frame before it is possible to complete the frame assembly. Typically, frame members do not permit the dowel and sling to be inserted after completion of frame assembly. Thus, for conventional sling systems, the full assembly of the chair, including mounting of the sling, must take place at a single facility.
It would be advantageous to provide a manufacturing process for wicker sling-type furniture that avoids the complexity of wicker threading and the conventional requirement that the sling be mounted onto the frame during assembly of the frame. Then the frame may be assembled in one location and a sling, including woven wicker embodiments, might be mounted onto the frame at a separate location.